Once Upon A Cheater
by ellag2004
Summary: For Grace it was a breakfast at Jimmy's that changed the course of her life. Though she didn't know it at that time. How could've she ever thought that getting her heart broken would lead to her heart be stolen by someone she'd know her whole life? What if the heart-breaker isn't out of the picture yet? Will he keep the two star-crossed lovers apart, or will Romeo find his Juliet?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! How's it going? This is a new story in collaboration with A New Look. All of their stories are amazing so you should definitely check them out! I am still writing my other** **story: Take The Key And Lock Her Up in Alexei's POV, but I will also update this regularly. So here it is folks, "Once Upon A Cheater". Read, ENJOY, review and pm us!**

CHAPTER ONE And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, Is a cheater!

'Oh, Jamie I am going to kill you!' I wake up to the sound of six alarm clocks, all blaring, and all blaring at 5 O'clock in the morning. If there is one thing my brother knows, it is that I am NOT a morning person. And if there is one thing that I, know. It is that I am going to get revenge.

At last, it's Spring Break. And finally, I get to sleep in at least a little. So, Jamie is going down. And he is going down hard.

'Grace is everything alright?' Julie says, as she comes through my door. The great thing about having a maid is that she is always there when you need her for something. The bad thing is that she always feels the need to check up on you after every little disturbance. I shouldn't complain though. After all, Julie is one of my best friends.

Julie has been the personal maid to the Royal Family of Adria for 2 years now, but I have known her since I was born. She is the daughter of Sarah, who was the maid to my family for years before my brother and I were born. 2 years ago, Julie turned 20, and she was obliged to start her duties. Julie is like a sister to me. Plus, she always helps me get back at Jamie, which is a definite bonus.

'Yeah, everything's fine. But, Jamie, decided to give me a few spare alarm clocks this morning.' I say. And she smiles mischievously.

'Well, Alexei and Noah stayed over last night, and they were playing the XBox. What do you say we delete their game data?' She says quietly with a laugh.

'I say let's do it!' I try to hold back a giggle.

We sneak out of my room as quietly as we can and make our way through the palace hallways. Alexei and Jamie have probably gone out for a run, or to the gym. But knowing Noah, he will still be asleep is in Jamie's room, so this is going to be a difficult mission.

As Julie and I come around the corner, I am stopped by a voice.

'Grace, Julie. What are you two up to?' My mother, Queen Caroline asks. I spin around to face her and smile innocently.

'Getting revenge.' I say with a sweet smile, and she laughs.

'Oh goodness, I can only imagine what that means. Jamie and Alexei went for a run, but Noah's still asleep in your brother's room.' She says knowingly. Julie and I nod, giggle, and run around towards Jamie's room.

I pull on the handle and the door creaks open. Luckily, Noah is a very deep sleeper. He wouldn't even bat an eyelid if the palace went up in flames around him. I walk inside silently, to check that everything is clear, and when I beckon for Julie to follow me, she quickly walks over the threshold and closes the door behind her.

I make my way around the bed, where Noah is snoring like an elephant. Julie walks over to the Xbox and turns it on, flipping through the settings, and erasing all of the game data for GTA. I wait by Noah, urging her to work more quickly. After a minute or two, she's all finished, and we slowly tip-toe towards the door.

'Megan.'

I turn around quickly, as I hear Noah say my best friends name. I hold my breath, thinking we're busted, but he's just talking in his sleep.

'Megan!' He says again, this time nearly yelling. This is too funny, and I can't resist the urge to pull out my phone and video him.

'Megan, stop it! That tickles!' He says with a giddy giggle. I burst out laughing and send the video to Megan, making sure to save it into my snapchat memories. Julie yells at me to come, but I can't miss this. Noah pulls a pillow to his face and starts making out with it. I am doubled over with silent laughter, until I feel a pair of muscular arms grab my waist from behind and hold me up in the air.

'Something funny Gracie?' I hear Alexei ask from behind me.

Busted.

'Let me down you weirdo!' I say laughing. I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow and he drops me.

'Ummmm. Ow!' He says, with mock pain etched on his face.

'Where's Jamie?' I ask him, looking over his shoulder.

'He's downstairs talking to your father. What were you doing in here?' Alexei asks with a small laugh.

'Sorry, but I have to go.' I say, making for the door. But Alexei is too quick, and stands in the doorway, blocking my path. I sigh and look down at my phone, seeing that Megan has sent me a snapchat. It's a photo of her bed, with a very masculine looking pair of legs tangled in the sheets. SHE DIDN'T! I quickly send her a photo of Alexei standing the doorway, and when he lunges towards me, I duck out the door.

He chases me down the hallway, and when we get to my room, I dive onto my bed, and he jumps on top of me, tickling me until I have tears in my eyes. It is only that he stops when we hear a small cough coming from the doorway. By this point, he is basically on top of me, so it might look slightly inappropriate. And of course… it's Jake.

'Hey J.' I say, sheepishly, pushing Alexei off me.

'Uh… Hi Grace.' He says to me, but he only has eyes for Alexei. The two glare at each other as Alexei moves off my bed.

'Well, Gracie, I'll leave you two alone.' Alexei says, and he looks… Disappointed? I don't know. I have always had a bit of a crush on Alexei, but we're too good of friends to have any kind of relationship. Alexei is easily one of my best friends, and I am kind of sad as he disappears out the door. Anyways, I'm with Jake, and I am just about the happiest girl alive.

He comes over to me, and kisses me hard. He is literally lying on top of me. I pull away slowly and look up at him.

'So… what do you want to do today?' I ask. He furrows his brows and looks away for a second, before turning back to face me.

'How about we go to Jimmy's and then go down to the beach?' He asks me, starting to kiss me again. I wait another couple of seconds before pulling away again.

'Okay.' I say, smiling up at him. 'Just let me get changed and I'll meet you downstairs.'

'Okie dokie.' He says, and he walks out of my bedroom.

Jake is the stepson of the English Ambassador. I am friends with his stepbrother Mark. Jake has super cute green eyes, and dirty blonde hair. He's about 5.8, and he's well-built and muscly. He's super funny, and just about the sweetest guy ever. I'm so glad that we're together. We've been dating for about 7 months now. It's good, because he's just another one of my best friends, and we tell each other nearly everything.

I change into a high-waisted black denim skirt and a nude bodysuit. I chuck on my high-heeled black boots and quickly put on some mascara. I walk down the stairs and see my father, sitting in front of the television, watching the football. He's the king-consort of one of the most powerful countries in Europe, but he still enjoys a good game of NFL. When he married into the Royal Family of Adria, he made a special request that the palace get all of the American sports channels, much to my mother's annoyance.

'Hi Daddy,' I say, sticking my head through the door.

'What are you up to today sweetie?' He asks me, pausing the game.

'I'm going out with Jake. We're going to get some breakfast and then go to the beach. Oh shoot, I forgot my swimmers!' I tell him, and then blow him a kiss. I race back upstairs to get my swimmers. I reach into my drawer, and pulling out the bikini Alexei gave me for my birthday a few weeks ago. They are a very nice pair of swimmers. The top is a plain white tube top, and the bottoms are high-cut lacy white material. I put them into a small tote bag, grab my purse off my dresser, and then go back downstairs, to find Jake having a conversation with Jamie about some sort of assignment Jamie has over the holidays. I link my arm through his, and drag him away.

'Come on J, we'd better get going. I'm super hungry!' I say, smiling sweetly at him.

'Okay, let's go babe.' As we walk out the private exit, and into the palace gardens, he calls over his shoulder, 'Talk to you later Jamie.'

We walk to Jimmy's with our hands intertwined, and on the way many citizens said hi and asked for autographs and pictures which I stop to give out. We waited for a few minutes to be seated at Jimmy's but when we got our food, ohhh, I was a happy soul.

The minute I saw the steaming hot pancakes in front of my mouth hung open and started watering and I dig in. The bell chimes and I see Frankie Harvey walk in and go sit in a booth with her friends, but a few minutes later she gets up to go to the bathroom.

Jake kept making funny jokes about this TV show we're watching together and I'm just dying. A few minutes later he get up to go the the bathroom and I continue eating my pancakes.

In between bites of pancakes, I stared out the window towards town center of Valencia, though it's not really in the center because it's close to Embassy Row and the beach. While looking out I saw Evan, the football captain at our school and waved at him.

After a few minutes consisting of eating and saying hello to people, I decided to go look for Jake since he hadn't come back yet. I put down my fork, rubbed my hands quickly on a napkin, and then got up.

When I turned the corner into the hallway with the bathroom, my life shattered. Jake had Frankie pushed up against the wall and was making out with her. Tears started to weld up in my eyes, but then I wiped them away and marched towards the A-list assholes. I tapped Jake on his shoulder, and in a very annoyed tone he turned around and said, 'What,' but when he realized who I am, his eyes widen.

I raised my eyebrow, 'What? Well, let's see. One. You're an asshole. Two. Your reputation is going down the drain when I'm done with you. Three. I'm done with you, and you'd better hope you never see me again for your own good. Goodbye!' With that I turned around and walked out of Jimmy's, the tears already racing down my cheeks.

 **A/N: Sooo, what do you think? We'll try to get the new chapter up ASAP! Review and PM please, because we would love to hear from you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Guys, so this is the new chapter of our story. We hope you like it, as it has a bit of a climatic ending. Please PM, Review and enjoy! Next chapter should be up** **within** **a couple more days. Probably around the 10th or 11th of January. :))) Happy Reading**

CHAPTER TWO TRUTH OR DARE

I have been in my bed for a week. I honestly just can't believe that Jake would cheat on me. We had been dating for two months. Two months until he decided that I wasn't good enough for him. Five months he has been going around behind my back and seeing other girls. Seven months in a relationship that meant everything to me and absolutely nothing to him.

But what I'm not going to do is sit in my bed and feel sorry for myself. I already wasted a week on that, and I need a girls night. I text Megan and Lila, inviting them over to the palace. This will be nice, I will be able to spend time with them and not think about Jake too much.

Both of my friends quickly respond, and arrive within the half hour. When they get to the palace, we quickly stock up of junk food and go up to my room to play truth or dare.

'Come on Megan… Tell us!' Lila whines.

'Alright, do you _really_ want to know?' Megan asks sheepishly.

'Yes!' Lila screams. I don't know why she is so keen to know about her brother's sex life - but Iknow better than to question her.

'Well… Noah and i have made it to 4th base...Twice. But we're only friends now.' Megan says, cringing as she adds the last two parts.

'Ewww!' Lila squeals, shoving her face into the pillow in her lap.

'What!? You asked.' Megan says defensively. 'Alright, Grace's turn. Truth or dare Grace?' She asks me with a grin, even though she already knows the answer.

'Dare.' I say bravely. Last time I picked dare, I had to tell Jamie that I was pregnant because of Noah. He rang dad and they both lectured me for ages. Until I finally had to pluck up the courage - a week later - and tell them it was a joke. They were both sooo mad! I'd like to see if Lila and Megan can top that one. God knows they can.

'Oooh. I've got one!' Says Lila. She was the one who dared me last time, so this should be interesting. 'Grace. Tonight, I mean right now, you have to sneak into the Russian Embassy, go up to Alexei's room, and see what _happens._ ' She finishes with a wink. I am still getting over Jake, so I guess I could just go and talk to him. I know that Lila and Megan don't mean for me to just _talk_ though.

'Nah-uh. No way and I doing that. I'm still getting over Jake, it was only a week ago that I found out what a dirty disgusting cheat he is. Besides, I don't wanna,' I make a dirty hand gesture, 'With Alexei tonight!' I say, acting slightly more disgusted than I really am.

'Tonight?' Megan says, wiggling her eyebrows. I roll my eyes.

'You know what I mean. Besides, there's no way he'd even let me in. Not after the last time I saw him.' I add the last bit under my breath. Alexei and I are very good friends. At times, best friends. We tell each other almost everything. But I'm only 16, and he's 19.

'Anyways, I don't even know if he likes me like that.' I say. I know when we were younger, I had a major crush on him, but something tells me he has never quite felt the same way.

'Puh-lease!' Lila scoffs. 'I've seen the way he looks at you. We have _all_ seen the way he looks at you. He's totally and completely in love with you. Grace, come on, I knew you were naive but seriously?' She's right I guess, in a way. Anyway, there is no point in arguing with her when she gets like this. So I sigh, and throw my hands in the air.

'Fine, I'll sneak in. But… no _funny business_. I only intend on talking to him.

'MMMM… yeah right.' Megan says with a suggestive smile. She pushes my shoulder playfully and giggles.

'Good luck! And don't take too long!' Lila says, walking over and opening the window near the big tree outside my room. She pulls the curtains aside and winks.

I honestly can't believe I'm doing this. I walk through the tunnels underneath the city in my yoga pants and thin white t-shirt, and when I get to the entry near the American and Russian embassies, I climb out and leap up onto the wall. I move slowly and quietly until I reach the back of the Russian embassy. I run and jump, grabbing hold of Alexei's balcony railing, slamming against the brick wall below it. So much for being quiet.

My ribs are killing me, but I hoist myself up and swing my legs over the railing. I stand on his small balcony and look through the glass doors. He is sleeping. It's like 10pm. Bless his soul. I think about going back to the palace, but I have to go through with this, otherwise I know I will never hear the end of it. I slide his door across silently. Luckily he has always kept his doors and windows unlocked.

Once I'm inside his room, I have no idea what to do. I walk over and stand next to his bed. I nudge his shoulder a little bit.

'Psst. Alexei. Wake up.' I whisper, and he sits up slowly. He rubs his eyes and looks at me.

'Grace! What the hell are you-' he screams. I grab a sock from the laundry basket next to his bed and shove it in his mouth.

'Shhh, Alexei, they'll hear you!' I whisper. He gags, and I immediately remove the sock from down his throat.

'No they won't but they're sure as hell gonna hear you!' He says, laughing, as he grabs me by the waist and pulls me onto his bed. He starts tickling me mercilessly, and I'm nearly crying. After a while - probably around five minutes of wrestling on his bed, we finally settle down and cuddle.

'Alexei, I don't know what to do.' I say, and I find myself crying for a different reason. He strokes my hair and wipes away my tears. He holds me close and I feel the warmth radiating off his abs. NO GRACE! Cut it out girl! I mean, I love Alexei as a friend, he would do anything for me. But… I just broke up with Jake. And I couldn't bring myself to start having romantic feelings for anyone else yet. And this is Alexei we're talking about. Anyway, I'll never be good enough for him.

'Gracie?' He asks me into my ear.

'Yeah?' I say back to him, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

'What's wrong? You've been very distant these past couple of weeks. What's been happening lately.' He asks, sitting up and pushing me out of his lap so I am lying down next to him.

'Well,' I say, propping myself up on a mountain of pillows and turning to face him. 'I found out that Jake has been cheating on me with that bitch Frankie Harvey. And I've been borderline depressed since then, and I still haven't told Jamie yet because he'll probably start an unnecessary fight about it. So now… I am just in a shitload of mess and don't know how to get out of it.' I say, starting to cry again. Alexei just pulls me under his shoulder and rests his head on top of mine.

'I loved him Alexei. I was prepared to give everything up for him. And… I thought he loved me too. But he didn't, and, now, I'm left looking like the stupid one.' I say, sobbing between words.

'Gracie, you are not stupid. You just fell for the wrong guy. One day, you'll find someone great who loves you so much and would do anything for you. You just need to look for him, and you might find him.' Wow Alexei, that was very subtle. But just about the sweetest thing ever. 'Grace, you know you can always talk to me, no matter what time of the night or day, just call me or come to see me. I'll always be here for you.' He says, and I just turn to him and give him the biggest hug ever. He is obviously taken aback, but after a few seconds, he awkwardly moves his hands to my back and holds me tightly. I cry into his shoulder for who knows how long. He strokes my back and holds me tight, and I can't help but feel like maybe I do like Alexei like that. Like maybe I always have.

'BEEP BEEP'

I jump apart from Alexei, upon hearing my phone beep. It's a text message from… Megan and Lila. Oops. I might've been here for a while. I check the time on my phone and it's nearly 12am. Yep. It's been 2 hours since I left the palace. To be fair, it take about half an hour to get to the Russian embassy through the tunnels. Uh-oh. They're going to be suspicious.

'Who's texting you?' He asks me, eyeing me weirdly.

'Ummm. Megan and Lila, I kind of left them at the palace in my room.' I say guiltily.

'Oops.' He says with a laugh.

'Yeah. Haha. Well I should probably go.' I say, standing up and walking towards the balcony.

'Yep. Oh wait!' He yells as I reach out to open the doors.

'What?' I stage whisper dramatically and laugh.

'I wouldn't be laughing, the alarm on my door is activated at 11pm. Unless you want to walk out the front door, you're stuck here.' He says, patting the bed next to him. I laugh, I want to stay, I really do. But I kind of have to go back to the palace. Or do I? Yeah, no. I sort of do.

'I'm sorry Alexei, I'd love to stay, believe me, but I don't want to get caught in here in the morning when your father comes in here to see if you've seen his shoes. I don't want to take the risk. He already hates me.' I say with a nervous laugh. Alexei's father hates everyone, he tells me, but he seems to find Jamie, Noah, Megan and just about everyone else's company somewhat enjoyable.

'Fine, I'll sneak you out the front door. Let's go.' He says, getting up quickly and moving over to his bedroom door. This is not a good look, I decide. So we're going to have to be very quiet and _very_ careful. He holds his hand and I take it. It's big, and warm and comforting. Alexei will always support me, and I know that now.

We walk around the corner and down the stairs, passing his parent's bedroom successfully. We get past all of the bedrooms, and we don't make a single sound. When we get to the first floor, we walk around the formal living room, and there is a light on in the kitchen. Alexei pulls me back against the wall, while he ducks his head around the corner to check the kitchen area.

'Looks clear.' He whispers, barely audibly. We hold hands again, and tip-toe towards the front door.

'Hold it!' I hear from behind us.

'Shit!' Alexei mutters. I stop in my tracks and pivot slowly around to face the person behind us. It's Ambassador Volkov, Alexei's father. OK, so I'm starting to have a mini panic attack.

Deep breaths, Grace, deep breaths. Oh screw that! I'm dead!

'Hello, Grace. What brings you here at 12 O'clock in the morning?' He asks, raising his eyebrows. I look up at Alexei and he looks down at me. We probably look sooooo guilty right now. 'Oh. I see. You were doing special things.' I know what he's implying, and I do not like it.

'What!? No. Definitely… ew!' I exclaim, baffled that he would say such a thing.

'Dad…' Alexei says, giving a warning glance in his father's direction.

'Something you'd like to come clean about Alexei?' Ambassador Vincent replies.

'Dad, can you just leaver Grace alone? She has been through a _really_ tough time recently, and she just needed to talk. Is it a crime to support my friend during a tough time in her life?' Alexei yells. I appreciate that he is being so sweet, but he's really not helping the situation. Technically, we did nothing wrong… but, Alexei's father is not convinced.

'Oh, so you came here for rebound sex? Well isn't that classy? Your parent's would be very happy. Please, tell me you used protection, we wouldn't want any teenage pregnancies happening.' He finishes, gulping down his huge glass of water. Alexei stands with his mouth hanging open, and starts towards his father. I quickly grab him around the waist and he turns back to face me.

'Grace, I will be taking you home now,' He says through clenched teeth. He turns back to his father and says in a deathly tone, full of venom, 'And _we…_ will finish this later.' And with that, his hand slips into mine and we walk back to the palace in complete silence.

 **Hope you enjoyed that! PM, Review, we love to hear from you guys :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys. We know how long you have been waiting for this new chapter, and we're so so sorry that it had been so long in the works, but we're both incredibly busy, and need to prioritise schoolwork over anything else. I will be updating my other story soon as well, after my exams are over in about a week. So enjoy, PM and review.**

Chapter 3: Banishment

When I see the sidewall of the palace approaching, I want to turn back and just run away forever. The walk was amazing. Just me and Alexei, my hand in his huge, snuggly warm one, walking comfortably. To say I was sad as I reached the wall is an understatement.

I look over to Alexei and give him a hug, 'Thank you. For listening to me and dealing with me.'

'Of course, you can come to me any time,' He looks down to me and hesitates, before grabbing my face in his hands and looking deep into my eyes. 'Take care of yourself Gracie,' He pulls away slowly, still with his eyes locked in mine. I nod slowly before turning away and down the path to the garden. When I'm out of his view, I turn back and watch him, not creepily though... He sticks his hands in his pockets, and looks up at the palace, where my room is, and slowly turns back, walking out the gates.

I quickly scale the wall and sneak around the guards back into the window of my room. Lila and Megan are watching the TV with their backs towards me, so I decide to scare them. I tip-toe my way behind them and crouch down. I mentally count to three, and then I jump up while screaming, 'BOO!'

Megan jumped on the couch, effectively throwing the bowl of popcorn in the air, and turns around and holds the remote up like a weapon.

'Grace! Where the hell were you?! It's been like, nearly three hours since you left. We were so worried,'

'Ah correction,' Lila interrupts, 'Megan was worried, and I was proud of my girl, I thought you were getting it on down there.' She says with a teasing smirk.

'No, nothing like that happened...' I try my best to assure them of this, but they're not gonna believe this, they simply don't want to. Besides, I must look pretty guilty with this big grin plastered on my face.

'Oh okay, if you weren't doing that, then what were you doing for three hours?' Megan asks, with a look. It's two against one, I think. Then I realise. It's two against two. No matter where he is, Alexei will always be on my side. I know that now.

'I promise you guys, I just went there, well snuck in... then I woke him up and then we just sat on his bed and talked, then I was upset so he hugged me. Oh yeah, and then Ambassador Volkov caught him trying to sneak me out, so good luck to him with that one,'

'Awwww" Lila and Megan make a collective swoon at Alexei's adorableness when I tell them about what he said to his dad in the Embassy, and what he said to me as he walked me home. Lila moves around the couch to stand next to me and take the remote off Megan and turning "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" off. We're obsessed. But apparently, it's "marry Grace off time"

'That's so cute! Grace,' Megan turns serious moment 'So what are you going to do about it?'

Lila shoves her shoulder gently, 'Let Grace make her own decisions please Megan. When she makes the wrong one as she most likely will, that's when we steal her password and slide in his DM's.' Lila says giggling and raising her eyebrows. I appreciate how into this they are, I mean, it's how they've been since the start of Alexei and I's friendship. But I think I really need to go this one alone.

'Guys,' I start and they both nod. 'I just broke up with Jake, besides, Alexei's... Alexei. He could just be being friendly.' I say, worried that it might be true. But Megan rolls her eyes and pushes my shoulder, almost falling off the arm of the couch in the process. She catches herself, but soon jumps back down and sits on the couch, facing towards me and leaning over the back.

'You've got to be kidding me. Grace, from what you've told us, he's in love with you.'

Lila nods enthusiastically, 'Mmhmm. But he's too scared to make a move because he knows that you're vulnerable and he doesn't want to ruin the friendship if you reject him or if it doesn't work out. Also, you're Jamie's little sister, and that's a massive no-no in the bro-bro department. But then again, he's contested, because he's in love with you – big time. And he wants to be with you, but because you're,' She gestures to me in an "abracadabra" type fashion, 'You, he knows that you might take your time to warm up to the idea of being with him, and that makes him susceptible to failure. A defenceless Alexei is not one that's going to ask someone out without some prompting.' She adds the last bit to Megan with a sharp nod, but I'm too busy digesting her whole speech to notice, or care about what she's insinuating. I knew Lila knew her way around the whole issue of dating and relationships and boys, but I totally underestimated just to what extent her knowledge reaches.

It all makes sense. I mean, of course he likes me. That's why I always catch him staring at me whenever we're all together. And why he looked so disappointed when Jake interrupted us messing around the other day. Oh god, I'm so naïve! I had always assumed that Alexei was just a really good friend to me, that he cared about me so much that he would do anything for me. But Lila's right. He's in love with me. Shit.

'Grace, what do you think?' Megan grabs my hand and squeezes it. Smiling like she knows not to rush me. But Lila can't help herself.

'You guys are meant to be!' She whines, and I giggle a little bit.

'I guess I just need to see what happens. I mean, it's Alexei we're talking about,' Choose your words carefully Grace... 'It could just be him being friendly, and before you argue with me,' I say, as Lila makes a protestive noise, 'I kind of want to navigate this by myself. Of course, I'll tell you guys everything, but please respect my decision. If this could end up being serious, I want it to be because I knew what I was doing. I love you girls, but - do you know what I'm saying?' I ask, hoping that Lila especially will understand and give me some space on this. Megan, I'm not so worried about.

Megan nods with a sweet smile. 'Of course, Grace. It was the same with me and Noah.' She says, risking a quick glance at an annoyed Lila. She hates it whenever we revisit Megan and Noah's short-lived romance. Megan's totally over it, Noah... not so much. She turns to Lila, with an expectant look on her face.

'Yeah, okay.' Lila says, evidently disappointed, 'But I swear to God if your kids get Russian names, I'm gonna have something to say about it.' She says, smiling. 'Now come on, get your ass over here so we can see Camille and Tay Armstrong going off at each other,' Lila jumps excitedly onto the couch and turns the TV back on. Sure enough, the two women are screaming at each other, while their friends watch on shocked as hell. This is the one scene that we watch on repeat. All the time. I jump onto the couch, sharing my favourite blanket with Megan.

While Lila and Meg are engrossed in the bitch-battle, I pull out my phone. I don't know why, but I find myself texting Alexei.

GRACE

Hey… Thanks, for tonight. I needed to get everything off my chest. :)

ALEXEI

Anytime. I'm always here for you Gracie. 3

GRACE

That's sweet Alexei.

I smile, he's wayyy too adorable!

ALEXEI

What are you girls up to now?

GRACE

One guess...

ALEXEI

Real Housewives?

GRACE

You got it!

I blush, of course he knows my favourite TV show, it's basically all I ever talk about. That and GLEE. I get very nostalgic about GLEE, and my poor friends always have to sit through my mourning sessions. (R.I.P CORY MONTEITH & MARK SALLING) I nervously await his next message, and it doesn't come for three minutes, but when it does, I nearly crap myself.

ALEXEI

Ms. Blakely, if you come anywhere near the Russian Embassy again, you will be facing serious consequences. I urge you to stay away from my son and if you ever come to my house again and engage in the sort of activity you did tonight, then I will be speaking to your parents immediately.

Alexei's dad must've taken his phone! I elbow Megan in the side.

'Uhh Megs, help!' I say, basically throwing my phone at her. Lila snatches it up and immediately, her expression changes.

'Shit, Grace. You're dead. He didn't get this mad at me when he caught me showering in Alexei's room last year. You're stuffed.' She says, handing Megan my phone. Megan shoves Lila's phone gently.

'Oh relax, she's not dead, you know how Mr Volkov gets, he's probably just had a really bad day. Look, I'll text Alexei tomorrow, when his dad's calmer and we can try and get him here. But for now, how are you Ci, you seem a bit preoccupied.' She says, concern filling her eyes.

'I don't know. I mean, Alexei- I just… I don't know how I feel. I hate to admit it, but I think I'm still in love with Jake.' I say, hanging my head with the shame of believing what I just said. Lila's jaw drops and she starts to shake her head slowly. I guess that's what I get for having feelings even I know I shouldn't still have.

Suddenly…

RING RING RING RING

Oh my god! As soon as Alexei's name comes up on my screen I go into panic mode. I throw my phone to Lila and she almost drops it onto Megan's lap. While Lila and I are hyperventilating, Megan calmy picks up the phone.

'Hello, this is Megan.' She holds the phone to hear, and I can just make out a deep male voice. Suddenly, she exhales and laughs nervously.

'What, what did he say?' I ask, moving closer to her. She laughs and shakes her head.

'Grace- wow. All I can say is good job, she was petrified' She says to whoever is on the phone, and I'm confused more than I've ever been before. She hands me the phone with a roll of the eyes and puts her hands over the speaker. 'It's Alexei.'

I breathe out a breath I didn't realise I was holding in and laugh.

'Hey you,' I say into the phone, trying not to smile too much.

'Hi. So I heard I got you good?' He says, and I can tell he's very proud of himself.

'Mmmm,' I say, he knows how much I hate to be pranked. And for his own good, he'd better know that I will be getting revenge. 'You're such an idiot.' I say giggling, and he chuckles gently. 'Are you home yet?' I ask him, I've been back here for nearly forty-five minutes, and I'm honestly surprised Alexei's still alive. His dad was livid.

'Uhhh,' He sighs. 'No, I _went_ home. But, my dad suggested that I stay away for a couple of days. He was not happy.' he says with a sad laugh. Instantly, I feel my face fall. Alexei was legitimately kicked out of his house because of me.

'Alexei oh my god are you okay?' I ask, and I gesture for Megan and Lila to go away for a second.

'I'm fine Gracie,' He doesn't sound fine, 'Hey is Jamie still up?'

'No he's not. But… Come and stay here Alexei. Mum and Dad won't mind. I've already got Meg and Lila over, please come, I don't want you to have to sleep anywhere unsafe.' I say, as I walk over and plop down on my bed.

'Gracie, could you imagine what my father would say if he found out I stayed in your room, after he kicked me out because you were in mine for two hours.' He says, actually sounding kind of amused at the thought.

'Well, we obviously wouldn't tell him. You could just say you were with Jamie. Trust me, Megan and Lila don't mind-'

'Uhhh, dont mind what?' Lila says, prowling towards me. I slap her arm gently as Alexei sighs.

'Okay,' He sighs, 'I'll be there soon.' He hangs up and I fill Megan and Lila in.

'Aww the poor thing!' Megan exclaims, from my closet, getting out an inflatable mattress and sheets.

'Grace,' Lila starts with a mischievous smirk. 'You do realise there are only three beds? Right?'

There's a tap at my window...

 **Hope you liked that :) Don't forget to review and PM with any suggestions, we'd love your feedback 3 (thanks for your understanding in us not posting, it means a lot.** **Next chapter hopefully up within the fortnight.**


End file.
